Folding-machine.



H. O. SGHROEDER. FOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APB..18,1911.

Patented May 7, 1912.

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H. G. SGHROEDER.

FOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.1B,1911.

Patented May 7, 1912.

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' HANS G. SOHROEDER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE GOSS PRINTINGPRESS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

FOLDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 18, 1911.

Patented May '7, 1912. Serial No. 621,839.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, I-IANs 'C. Sci-rnononn, asubject of the Emperor of Germany, residing in Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Folding-Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

The invention relates to stitching and folding machines, and as tocertain features thereof more particularly to folding machines in whichsheets are folded over a folding blade by folding jaws and carried awayupwardly, and also in certain of its features it relates more especiallyto stitch ing and folding machines in which the sheets are stopped forstitching and are conveyed to the folding position or station byreciprocating grippers.

Objects of the invention are to provlde a novel mechanism of thecharacter described which will stitch and fold in exact registry at highspeed while preserving the commercial quality of the product at thehighest standards of excellence for such work; to provide for rapid andexact stopping and registry for stitching and for folding; to providefor action of the folding jaws which will insure a perfect fold and thecarrying away of the folded sheets upwardly for delivery; to provide foruniform action of the reciprocating folding jaws with the folding bladenotwithstanding changes in speed, or size of the sheet bundle or qualityof paper used, or other changes found necessary or desirable; and toother wise provide coaction of the various parts to meet commercialrequirements of rapid, high grade printing and binding of the kind forwhich this machine is designed.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements,combinations and improvements herein shown and de scribed.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and forming a part hereof,illustrate one embodiment of the invention, the same serving inconnection with the description herein to explain the principles of theinvention.

Of the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying theprinciples of the invention; and Fig. 2 is an end elevation looking atFig. 1 from the left.

Referring to the accompanying drawings and taking up the descriptionthereof in the same sequence as the passing of the sheets through themachine, means for stitching together a bundle of sheets are providedcomprisin stationary stitchers 1 and 2, ar-

. ranged longitudinally of and above the path of travel of the sheetsand having their clenching dies 3 and 4: below said path. Suitable meansfor bringing the bundle of sheets to the stitching position areprovided, shown herein as tapes 5 and 6, with which opposed tapes (notshown) may cooperate, if desired.

Means are provided for arresting the sheets in position for stitching,that is, in registry with the stitchers, and holding them at rest whilethe stitches or staples are being driven, comprising a stationary, ornontravelin'g stop, movable into and out of the path of travel of thesheets. In the embodied form, said stop rcciprocates in guides in themachine frame, and is mounted upon rods 11 connecting respectively byarms 12 with a rock shaft 13. Said stop 10 is stationary, that is itdoes not travel to and fro along the path of travel of the sheets, butis movable to stop and hold the sheets and to permit them to pass onwardin the conveying grippers. Fixed to rock shaft 13 is an arm 14,'whicharm is pivotally connected to a rod 15, said rod terminating in a yoke16 embracing a driving shaft 17. A cam roll 18 is mounted on the rod 15and is in operative relation with a cam 19 upon the shaft 17.

The stitched bundle of sheets is conveyed from the stitching position tothe folding position by a reciprocating gripper mechanism. The embodiedform of such gripper mechanism comprises a carriage having a cross-head25 extending transversely of the machine, and having side frames 26 and27 at either side. Said side frames carry rollers 28 and 29,respectively, traveling in corresponding guides 30 and 31 upon themachine frame.

In the embodied form one gripper jaw is fixed and its companion jaw ispivotally mounted to open and close. A pair of such grippers is shown ateither side of the carriage, each pair comprising a fixed jaw 32 fixed.to the cross head 25, and a movable jaw 33 pivoted at 34; upon thecorresponding side frame of the gripper carriage. In the embodied formof opening and closing means for said movable jaw, a lever arm 35extends from the pivot point 34, and has pivoted thereto a pin 36, saidpin working in an aperture in a lug 37 on the side frame of the grippercarriage. A spring 38 is shown coiled about the rod or pin 36, and intension between the lug 37 and a collar 39 on said pin 36. It will beseen' that the spring tends to keep the pivoted gripper jaw 33 closedagainst the fixed jaw 32. Carried upon the lever arm 35 is a cam roll40.

Suitable means for reciprocating the gripper carriage in the guides and31 are provided, the embodied form thereof comprising racks 50 formed onthe underside of each of the side frames 26 and 27 of the grippercarriage. In mesh with these racks, respectively, are gears 51 fixed tothe shaft 52. Fixed also to the shaft 52,

at either side, are pinions 53 meshing, re-

spectively, with toothed racks 54 upon the opposite side of the shaftfrom the racks 50. Journaled upon the shaft 52, at either end thereof,are rods 55 which are longitudinally reciprocated by suitable mechanism(not shown).

Means are provided for opening the grippers 32 and 33 as they approachand just before they reach the bundle of sheets which is at rest at thestitching position, that the open jaws may pass freely and certainlypast the opposite faces of the end' of the bundle, and then snap shutupon the bundle just as the gripper carriage starts in the oppositedirection. The embodied form of such means comprises cams 60 located andarranged to cocperate with the cam rolls d0 upon the respective arms 35of the gripper jaws 33. Said cams 60 are carried upon arms 61, fixed toa shaft 62 journaled in the machine frame. Fixed also to said shaft 62is an arm 63, to. which arm is pivotally connected a rod 64. Said rod64; terminates in a yoke 65 straddling the driving shaft 17. Carriedupon the rod 64: is a cam roll 66, cooperating with a cam 67 upon saidshaft 17. Near the opposite end of the travel of the gripper carriageare provided cams 70 constructed and arranged to cotiperate,respectively, with the cam rolls 40 upon the respective arms 35. Thecams 70 are convenient-ly supported upon the machine frame by brackets71.

Mounted in the path of travel of the sheets, at the end of the-foldingposition, are registering stops 72. These stops are preferably renderedadjustable, and for this purpose through the foot 73 of each stop passesa bolt 74 having a slot connection with the support for said stop.

The manner of operation of the mechanism so far describedissubstantially as follows: The bundle of sheets is fed to the stitchingposition by the tapes 5 and 6, and

is brought to rest in registry with the stitchers, and held at restduring the stitching, by the stop gate 10, which gate has been projectedup into the path of the sheets by the train of mechanism from the cam 19already described. The stitches are driven through the sheet by thestitchers 1 and 2 and clenched by the elenchers 3 and EL. The conveyinggrippers 32, 33 are approaching the bundle of sheets, and the cam rolls40 engage with their respective cams 60 which are in their upwardposition, referred to Fig. 1, thus slightly rocking the arm 35 as therolls 4O ride up on the cam surfaces 60. This opens the gripperjaws 32and 33 apart, and they pass on opposite faces of the end of the sheetbundle. The cams G0 are swung downwardly by the train of connections tothe cam 67, previously described, the spring 38 acting to close thegrippers 32 and 33 together. In the meantime the gate 10 is droppeddownwardly out of the path of the sheets which are then conveyed to thefolding position in the grip of the jaws 32 and 33. As the grippercarriage approaches the other end of its travel, the cam rolls 40 engagetheir respective cams 70, thus opening the grippers 32 and apart. Thestitched bundle of sheets encounters the stop 72 and is brought to restin accurate registry with the folding blade, while the conveyinggrippers travel beyond for a short distance, thus traveling well clearof the sheet bundle. In the meantime the folding jaws have folded thebundle of sheets over the folding blade along the line of the stitchesand carried it away upwardly out of the wayof the conveying grippers andtheir carriage as they return. The gripper carriage, it will beunderstood, is reciprocated by the lateral movement of the shaft 52.This causes the pinions 53 to roll upon the racks 54 and rotate thegears 51 which in turn drive the gripper carriage through the racks'50,the gain in speed of the gripper carriage being proportionate to theratio f the pinions and their gears.

The folding devices comprise a folding blade beneath the path of travelof the sheets, and folding jaws which act from above the path of travelof the sheets to fold them over the folding blade and carry them awayupwardly for delivery, said jaws being opened before they pass over theblade, and closing upon the sheets and blade to form the fold or creasebefore they swing off the blade carrying the folded sheets away upwardlyby the folded edge. The folding blade and jaws are arrangedlongitudinally of the path of travel of the sheets in harmony with thearrangement of the stitchers, and the stitched and folded sheets aredelivered at the side and above to intermittently traveling deliverybands or tapes.

In the embodied form the folding blade is supported upon a pedestal orbracket 80, at the forward end of the blade, and upon a support at therear end. The folding blade may be adjusted vertically by suitablemeans, such as the adjusting screws 82, the blade mounting 83 beingslidable in guides in the pedestal or bracket 80. Suitable sup ports,such as the plates 84 may be provided for the sheet bundle at eitherside of the blade. v

The folding jaws as embodied are mounted upon a pair of arms 90 fixed tothe shaft 91, journaled in the machine frame, and they are swung andreciprocated about said shaft by suitable means, the embodied form ofsuch means comprising an arm 92 fixed to said shaft at one end thereof.A connecting rod or pitman 93 is pivotally connected to said arms and toa crank plate 94 upon the shaft 17.

Means are provided for regulating the throw or travel of the foldingjaws in order that they may get just the right bite over the foldingblade irrespective of changes in the speed of the machine or of thethickness or character of the bundle of sheets being folded, and to makedue allowance for the spring and the momentum or inertia of the parts atdifferent speeds of the machine. In the embodied form of such means, therod 93 is made in two parts, the adjacent ends of said two parts beingoppositely threaded into a turning head 95 which is internally tapped.Suitable lock nuts 96 and 97 are provided for locking the parts inposition.

A folding jaw 98, or several such jaws, are pivoted upon the shaft 99carried at the ends of the arms 90. The cooperating jaw or jaws 100 arefixed to a shaft 101 likewise journaled in said arms 90. Means areprovided in the embodied form for opening and closing the jaw 100 tofold and. to release the sheets. Fixed to the shaft 101 is an arm 102 towhich is pivotally connected a pin 103 working in an apertured lug 104upon the corresponding arm 90. A spring.

an arm 110 pivotally mounted on the ma-.

chine frame at 111. Connected to said arm 110 is an arm 112, and aconnecting rod 113 is pivotally connected to the end of said arm 112 andhas its other end 114 yoked to inclose the shaft 17. A cam roll 115thereon cooperates with a cam 116 on the shaft 17. A spring 117 acts tohold the roll to its cam.

The delivery devices comprise endless belts or tapes 120 Working overpulleys 121 and 122 and belts or tapes 123 working over pulleys 122 and124, and may if desired be provided with suitable adjusting pulleys 125.The pulleys 122 are fixed on a shaft 126 to which is also fixedaratchetwheel 127. Pivoted to the shaft 126 is an arm 128 carrying a pawl 129cooperating with said ratchet 127. A pivoted link 130 connects the otherlink of the lever 128 with an arm 131 connected to the arm 92 whereby afeed is given to the delivery belts upon each actuation of the foldingjaws. An opening cam 132 for the folding jaws is fixed upon the machineframe. Suitable guide fingers 133 are carried upon a support 134, ifdesired, to assist the atmospheric action in closing the magazinetogether as it is carried by the folding jaws and before it is depositedupon the delivery tapes. Strippers 135 are also provided to cause themagazine to fall clear of the jaws before the jaws return on theirdownward movement. A slight spring action or yield to the jaw 98 isprovided as it passes on and off the folding blade by the springcontrolled arm 136 (said spring not being shown) and rod 137 the jawhaving a slight movement against said spring.

The manner of operation of the mechanisms just described issubstantially as follows: The bundle of sheets being positioned over thefolding blade 81, the folding jaws are moving downwardly, by means ofthe connections described, toward the sheets. The cam 109 has been swungtoward the right referred to Fig. 2, and is engaged by the cam roll 108.This serves to swing the jaw 100 against the spring 105 to open same,

and the folding jaws are so held open as the sheets are tucked withinthe folding jaws as the jaws pass over the blade. The cam 109 is thenswung toward the left, referred to Fig. 2, thus permitting the spring105=to close the jaws together upon the sheets while the jaws are stillabout the sheets and blade, andpreparato-ry to the folding jaws swingingupwardly off the folding blade carrying the sheets with them. As thejaws swing back toward the left referred to Fig. 2, the sheets passbetween the pulleys 121 and the fingers 133 and are drawn together,without being subject to direct rubbing or friction tending to smear ormar the outside sheets, or cover. The cam 132 then serves to open thejaws, permitting the folded book or pamphlet to fall upon the deliverytapes 120, the strippers 135 engaging the folded edge of the pamphlet,and the jaws continuing their travel sufiicient to insure the book orpamphlet falling free thereof before they return. The delivery tapesreceive their intermittent feed as already described.

It will be understood from all the foregoing that a machine has beenprovided embodying the features and objects of invention set forth andrealizing the advantages enumerated, together with other objects andadvantages. It will be understood further that certain changes may bemade from the mechanism as shown and described within the scope of theaccompanying claims without departing from the principles of theinvention and without sacrificing its object-s and advantages.

\Vhat I do claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. A folding machine including in combination means for positioning thesheets for folding, a folding blade below the positioned sheets, a pairof reciprocating folding jaws cooperating with said folding blade fromabove the sheets to fold the sheets thereover and carry them awayupwardly, and devices for opening said jaws prior to the folding in ofthe sheets and for closing the jaws while still about the sheets andblade.

2. A folding machine including in combination means for positioning thesheets for folding, a folding blade below the positioned sheets, a pairof folding jaws reciprocating about a center cooperating with saidfolding blade from above the sheets to fold the sheets thereover andcarry them away upwardly, and devices for opening said jaws prior to thefolding in of the sheets and for closing the jaws while still about thesheets and blade.

3. A folding machine including in combination means for positioning thesheets for folding, a folding blade below the posi tioned sheets, vapair of reciprocating folding jaws cooperating with said folding bladefrom above the sheets to fold the sheets thereover and carry them awayupwardly, spring means tending to close said folding jaws, and movablemeans for opening said' jaws against the action of said spring meansprior to the folding in of the sheet and for permitting said jaws toclose while still about the sheets and blade.

4. A folding machine including in combination means for positioning thesheets for folding, a folding blade below the positioned sheets, a pairof folding jaws reciprocating about a center cooperating with saidfolding blade from above the sheets to fold the sheets thereover andcarry them away upwardly, spring means tending to close said foldingjaws, and movable means for opening said aws against the action of saidspring means prior to the folding in of the sheet and for permittingsaid jaws to close while still about the sheets and blade.

5. A folding machine including in combi nation means for positioning thesheets for folding, a folding blade below the sheets, traveling foldingjaws above the sheets cooperating with said folding blade, springdevices tending to hold said jaws closed, and a member adjacent to thepath of travel of said jaws in position to force said jaws open as theyapproach the folding blade to fold the sheets thereover, said memberbeing movable to permit said spring devices to close the folding jawsupon the sheets while said jaws are still about the sheets and foldingblade, preparatory to carrying away the sheets upwardly by the fold.

6. A folding machine including in combination means for positioning thesheets for folding, a folding blade below the posimounted upon said armsand cooperating with said blade to fold the sheets thereover and carryaway said sheets by the fold, and means for controlling the distancethat the said blade passes within said jaws during the folding of thesheets.

8. A folding machine including in combination a folding blade, armsreciprocating about a center, a pair of folding jaws mounted upon saidarms and cooperating with said blade to fold the sheets thereover andcarry away said sheets by the fold, means for swinging said arms, andmeans for varying the swing of said arms to regulate the distance thatsaid blade passes within said jaws during the folding of the sheets.

9. A folding machine including in combination a fixed folding blade,arms reciprocating about a center, a pair of folding jaws mounted onsaid arms and cooperating with said blade to fold the sheets thereoverand .carry them away by the fold, a rod connected to said arms to swingsaid arms,

means for varying the length of said rod and means for actuating sa'idrod.

10. A folding machine including in combination a folding blade, armsreciprocating about a center, a pair of folding jaws mounted upon saidarms and cooperating with said blade to fold the sheets thereover andcarry away said sheets by the fold, and means for varying the swing ofsaid jaws to control the distance that said blade passes within saidjaws during the folding of the sheets.

11. A stitching and folding machine including in combination stitchingdevices, folding devices, reciprocating grippers for conveying thestitched bundle of sheets from the stitching position to the foldingposition, a stop for arresting the sheet bundle before said conveyinggrippers have reached the end of their travel at the folding end,whereby the sheet bundle is cleared from the conveying grippers andfolded and carried away before the conveying grippers return.

12. A stitching and folding machine including in combination stitchingdevices, a folding blade, reciprocating grippers for carrying thestitched bundle of sheets from the stitching position to the foldingposition, a stop for arresting the bundle of sheets before saidconveying grippers have reached the end of their travel at the foldingend, whereby the sheet bundle is cleared from said conveying grippers,and folding jaws operating from above to fold said sheet bundle over thefolding blade and carry it away upwardly when positioned by said stop.

13. A stitching and folding machine including in combination stitchingdevices, a folding blade, reciprocating grippers for conveying thestitched bundle of sheets from the stitching position to the foldingposition, a stop for arresting the bundle of sheets before saidconveying grippers have reached the end of their travel at the foldingend, whereby the sheet bundle is cleared from said conveying grippers,means for opening said conveying grippers as they pass said stop, andfolding jaws operating from above to fold said sheet bundle over thefolding blade and carry it away upwardly when positioned by said stop.

14. A stitching and folding machine in cluding in combination means forconveying sheets along a path, stationary stitching devices, a stopmovable into and out of the path of travel of the sheets to stop andhold the sheets in position for stitching and then to permit them to beconveyed away, reciprocating grippers for conveying said sheets fromsaid stitching position to a folding position, means for operating saidgrippers as they approach the stopped sheets and for closing them uponthe sheets as they reverse their direction of travel, and folding meansfor folding the sheets.

15. A stitching and folding machine including in combination means forconveying sheets along a path, stationary stitching devices, a stopmovable into and out of the path of travel of the sheets to stop andhold the sheets in position for stitching and then to permit them tobeconveyed away, reciprocating grippers for conveying said sheets from.said stitching position to a folding position, means for opening saidgrippers as they approach the stopped sheets and for closing them uponthe sheets as they reverse their direction of travel, folding means forfolding the sheets, and a stop in the path of travel of the sheets forfreeing said sheets from said conveying grippers near the end of theirtravel and for positioning said sheets for folding.

16. A stitching and folding machine ineluding in combination means forconveying sheets along a path, stationary stitching devices, a stopmovable into and out of the path of travel of the sheets to stop andhold the sheets in position for stitching and then to permit them to beconveyed away, reciprocating grippers for conveying said sheets fromsaid stitching position to a folding position, spring means tending toclose said grippers, a cam for opening said grippers against said springmeans as said grippers approach the stopped sheets, and means for movingsaid cam to permit said grippers to close upon the stopped sheets assaid grippers begin to move in the opposite direction.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HANS C. SCHROEDER.

Witnesses:

CHARLES E. PIOKARD, W. H. DE BUsK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. 0.

